Dear Editor,
It is now an undeniable historical fact that the PNC rigged the elections of 1968, 1973, 1980 and 1985 as well as the referendum in 1978 and from all the evidence, there are now desperate attempts to rig the 2020 elections. What is equally undeniable is the fact that whenever the PPP won an election, more often than not, the PNC greeted this with mayhem, violence, looting and burning.
When in 1961 the PPP won the elections, the PNC held mass demonstrations, a general strike and severe inter-racial violence. This ceased when the PNC coalesced with the UF and formed the 1964 Government and there was a marked hiatus through the entire rigging history of the PNC from 1968 to 1985 and then it began with great intensity again in 1992 after the PNC lost power and continued until the PPP/C lost the elections in 2015, except for 2006 and 2011.
In 1992, even as the voting process was in progress, the PNC transported several busloads and trucks of more than 1500 of their supporters to GECOM’s Head Office where they began violent demonstrations, claiming that their names were not on the voters’ list. They threw stones and other missiles at the building, breaking windows and even injuring the US Ambassador, Mr George Jones. The well-planned protests then moved to the streets.
It was later found out that these persons were going to the wrong room to vote. The voting hours were extended by 1 hour to make amends. Despite this, some persons from the mob began looting stores in the business area in Georgetown and violently attacking people in the streets, resulting in two deaths and extensive damage to property. It was only after the intervention of President Carter that the violence subsided.
There was no doubt that some persons in the PNC wanted to use the protests to claim that the 1992 elections were not free and fair and a point to note is that at one point the Region Four Returning Officer could not be located and refused to submit his figures (OAS Report) but the ‘Quick Count’ by The Carter Center had already placed the PPP/C as the victors. The Carter Center report also stated that “…violence, intimidation, and attempts to manipulate the process did occur…observers witnessed disturbances in Georgetown, Linden and New Amsterdam.” The PNC thus began a trend characterised by “slow fyah, mo fyah!”
In 1997, the OAS reported “a serious breakdown of the electoral process after the ballots were counted” and again the Region Four results were not being released, causing tension to escalate. The reports stated that “The Chairman and the Chief Elections Officer had announced that another reason for the delay in the Region 4 results was that the Statement of Polls were incorrect or incomplete or had been locked inside the ballot boxes”. During the verification process, Robert Corbin from the PNC withdrew his delegation from the process, alleging discrepancies. However, they returned later. It would seem that Region Four votes were always targeted for manipulation after the attempt in 1992.
In this election, the PNC failed in its bid to prevent the swearing-in of Mrs Janet Jagan as the President. However, the PNC alleged that the elections were fraudulent and refused to accept Janet Jagan as President. This was so despite all the international observer groups and Caricom reporting that the elections were free from any manipulation. Now again we see this being played out in the courts with the PNC alleging that the 2020 elections were fraudulent.
Once again in the aftermath of the 1997 elections, illegal and violent protests by the PNC and its supporters created havoc to the lives of mainly Indo Guyanese who were brutally beaten, robbed and molested. The PNC has a history of murders, rapes, discrimination, theft, lootings and riggings and it is always the Indo Guyanese bearing the brunt of it. Having done all these wrongs, the PNC was awarded with the curtailment of the PPP/C’s term in office by two years by the Caricom-brokered Herdmanston Accord.
In the 2001 elections, the PPP/C once again emerged the victor securing 35 seats as against 27 by the PNC. And again “there were serious incidents of violence and rioting in Georgetown, the capital city, following the announcement of the results”. The Carter Center found that “the voters freely expressed their democratic choices and that the official results reflected the will of the voters”. Despite this, it added that “Guyana’s electoral achievements have been marred by arson, post-election street violence…”
In 2006, The Carter Center report stated that “In comparison to previous elections, the most striking difference in this election was the absence of pre- and post-election violence and polling protests. These findings are consistent with the findings of the OAS, European Union, Commonwealth and EAB”. It had seemed then that Guyana was reaching some semblance of political maturity.
The same pattern followed in 2011 but the real reason was that in 2006, the AFC arrived on the political scene and by 2011 it was apparent that they were working in tandem to topple the PPP/C from Government, thus there was no need for the PNC to tarnish its image on the international scene. Then in 2015, they accomplished their mission. They coalesced and successfully took over the reins of power. There was no post-election violence. However, what must be borne in mind was that the corridor of power in GECOM was subtly being shifted in favour of the PNC. It must be recalled that recounts requested by the PPP/C were never granted and elections petitions languished in the courts.
However, the APNU/AFC coalition did not last long and with just over three years in Government, they were effectively ousted by a vote of no confidence on December 21, 2018. As they say, the rest is history and after more than a year later, on March 2, 2020, voters went to the poll.
But until now, more than four months later, and after several fraudulent reports by the CEO preceded by the usual shenanigans and attempted fraud by the Region Four Returning Officer that were in the making since 1992, the stymied electoral process is still being challenged in the courts by the PNC.
However, in the meantime, as a prelude to what will follow, three Government buildings have already been set on fire, angry street protests have become a daily feature, an effigy of the GECOM Chair is burnt, threats to life and property are being made on social media whilst the leaders of the coalition have been stoking racial strife and disharmony by peddling to their supporters that they have won the 2020 elections but the PPP/C has defrauded them. The coalition knows fully well that they have lost the 2020 elections but is bent of attacking the entire world in their insane quest to hold on to power, like the Pied Piper, leading their followers to destruction.
There is no doubt that we are getting closer to a PPP/C Government being installed but the question is: Will Granger and the other coalition leaders know when enough is enough and concede to their supporters that they lost the elections? Will they display the same political maturity they did in 2006 and 2011? It is not too late for Granger to now do an about-turn and ensure the survival of his legacy and his party, the PNC. Guyanese have had enough of ethnic violence! The price is too high!
Yours sincerely,
Haseef Yusuf
